The School of Science and Technology, Jackson State University proposes to establish a Center for Environmental Health. The proposed center will evolve as a "Center for Excellence" in the integration and application of expertise available at Jackson State University in various areas of biomedical and environmental health research. During the past few years, JSU has made significant progress in enhancing its research capabilities and new opportunities continue to emerge on the horizon. The main focus of this proposal is to develop and enhance JSU's research capability and competitiveness in the area of environmental health. Addressing the infrastructure needs of JSU in this area in terms of faculty technical personnel and major scientific equipment will provide the opportunity for the institution to become more competitive nationally within the mainstream of research and development. The effort will strengthen research in the Ph.D. Program in environmental science that currently enrolls 27 students. The Center's short-term goal will be to provide the faculty with support and resources required for research, but the long-term goal will be to produce well-prepared graduates and state- of-the-art research in health, biomedical and environmental sciences. The specific aims of the center are: to enhance environmental health research and development in order to strengthen our nation's leadership in this area; to foster and enhance collaborative research efforts among JSU, other universities, federal, state agencies and industry; to establish, coordinate, and enhance broadbased competitive research capabilities and resources at JSU, thereby increasing the quality of research programs; to facilitate mainstreaming of JSU into competitive university based research programs sponsored by NIH and other agencies; to strengthen and enhance opportunities for faculty development; to establish multiuser core research facilities; to increase the pool of highly trained minority professionals in environmental health; and to serve as a resource center for the environmental health community and other HBCUs in Mississippi.